Baltimore. Home of the beloved Baltimore Orioles and affectionately known by residents as Birdland. There’s no better place for the National Wildlife Federation to launch its signature Community Wildlife Habitat program, encouraging residents to Grow Together. McElderry Park is one of five Baltimore neighborhoods where NWF is committed to greening up the streets, backyards, businesses and places of worship in a way that is wildlife friendly. It’s all about providing the five basic elements all wildlife need– food, water, places to raise young, shelter, and a healthy sustainable habitat.

Havens for Wildlife and Kids!

On the evening of July 7, more than 30 residents showed up to install approximately 350 native plants including turtlehead, dwarf crested iris, creeping phlox, little bluestem, Christmas fern, golden groundsel, blue-eyed grass, and Appalachian mint.

Toddlers and grandparents alike took part in digging holes, planting the native plants, and positioning the eastern redbud tree in the center of the garden. Neighbors came out to volunteer, offer support, and watch as the garden took shape over the course of the warm evening. For most of the kids, it was their first time touching a caterpillar, holding a slug, or seeing fireflies take over the garden after the sun set. McElderry Park is one of many places we are working to create a network of wildlife habitats.

In Baltimore alone, NWF is helping 600 residents provide the five basic elements of wildlife habitat while addressing polluted runoff issues. We are also helping clean up habitat for marine animals in our local waterways, Inner Harbor, and the Chesapeake Bay.

This is why NWF’s Maryland affiliate, the National Aquarium, has partnered with us to offer a special certification for local yards.

For more information about NWF’s work in the Mid-Atlantic region, click here.

As a passionate gardener, I believe all gardens, open fields, and community habitats can be made sustainable using native plants to help wildlife. Wildlife rely on native plants for food, cover, and as places to raise their young. Because of the declining habitat for pollinators, National Wildlife Federation and other organizations have joined the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.

To complete this challenge, we need individual as well as group action. We need to mobilize into an “army” of gardeners to help our fellow bugs, bees, birds and butterflies survive!

Here’s how I transformed my garden into a wildlife habitat:

Transforming My Garden

Orange milkweed. Photo by Brooke Randolph

In 2013, I moved from DC to the Lower 9th ward of New Orleans. My move from suburban DC to southeastern Louisiana was quite a dramatic change for a gardener. The growing season never really ends here; it does slow down for a minute but starts up again with a vengeance as soon as the days lengthen. Constant competition between the weeds, the invasive species and what you actually want to have growing in your space keeps you on your toes!

I was determined to garden using native Louisiana plants. I wanted to create a sustainable space to help save pollinators. Armed with my well researched lists, I rooted through hundreds of specimens around the city to find plants native to southeast Louisiana.

Yellow red milkweed. Photo by Brooke Randolph

My side garden is now a thriving monarch habitat with host plants of milkweed and salvia. As more of the natural monarch habitats diminish, these plants, specifically native milkweed, provide a critical place to lay eggs and necessary food source.

The plants are not huge nor out of danger from the elements but for now, they all look happy. At this point I have seven varieties of native salvia and 5 varieties of milkweed (though I had to mail order seeds for 4 of the varieties).

Good news: in just two years, there’s been a shift and the botanical garden staff are marking their plants as “native” and “pollinators”! The National Herb Society, for example, holds a sale once a year and always has a section of native plants.

Lower 9th Metamorphosis

I’m on a mission to spread the word in New Orleans to create a community for people and pollinators using native plants.

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, there are still plenty of places that look like this in the Lower 9th, but imagine these same lots providing habitat for Monarchs!

Empty lots in the Lower 9th Ward as a result of Katrina. NWF Photo by kdw

By law each property owner in New Orleans parish must maintain his lot, at a huge environmental cost when using gas-powered mowers. Environmentally it would be a win-win; we could almost eliminate mowing while maintaining open spaces and providing habitat for butterflies who find it more and more difficult to find food on their great migrations!

Programs That Encourage Habitats

A multi-pronged approach is what is needed to preserve nature: pushing for legislation, municipalities and individuals creating habitats, involving educators, gardeners, families and sportsmen to hold onto what is near and dear as well as ultimately insuring our own survival!

Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat for pollinators and other local wildlife in your gardens, green spaces, communities, school yards, places of worship – everywhere!

Join the Monarch Joint Venture at http://www.monarchjointventure.org/ which is a partnership of federal and state agencies, NGO’s and academic programs working together to protect the monarch’s migration within the US.

Check out Monarch Watch http://www.monarchwatch.org/ assists average people and gardeners to create waystations or habitats to aid the survival of the Monarchs.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/helping-pollinators-one-garden-at-a-time/feed/0Weekly News Roundup: Celebrating National Pollinator Week and morehttp://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/weekly-news-roundup-celebrating-national-pollinator-week-and-more/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/weekly-news-roundup-celebrating-national-pollinator-week-and-more/#commentsFri, 19 Jun 2015 17:44:19 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=107416This week marks National Pollinator Week and the National Wildlife Federation is taking this opportunity to educate our supporters on our need for pollinators. As we all know, pollinators are in trouble and in need of your help. Check out these 10 simple ways you can help save pollinators!

In other news, mule deer, pronghorn and dozens of birds are in danger thanks to an awful coal mining proposal. This proposed coal railroad would slice through critical wildlife habitat in Otter Creek valleys. Don’t let this happen!

What’s happening at the National Wildlife Federation this week?

Healthy soil is underground insurance in extreme weather events

June 17 – Healthy soil can protect us from drought and flood impacts, saving farms, rural communities and even the American agriculture industry, according to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation. Can Soil Save Us? Making the Case for Cover Crops as Extreme Weather Risk Management details the many benefits of investing in healthy soil as protection from natural disasters.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as drought and floods, often hitting farmers and rural America hardest. Decades of mechanized farming has left our soils degraded and particularly vulnerable to extreme weather; unable to retain water to withstand dry spells and unable to soak up excess water during flood.

NWF in the News:

“This is a game-changer, an ambitious collective goal that, if met, could significantly reduce harmful algal blooms and the economic, social and environmental havoc they wreak,” said Mike Shriberg, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office.

The report by the National Parks Conservation Association, National Wildlife Federation and Wildlife Conservation Society comes after the National Park Service closed a public comment period on proposals to retool policies that have seen thousands of purebred buffalo from the nation’s last wild herd killed since 2000.

“We can never prevent drought or floods, but we can get smarter about them,” said Patricia White, senior policy specialist at the NWF and the report’s author. “In addition to predicting extreme events before and responding after, we can build soil quality to support farms when disaster hits. That healthy soil will act as a reservoir to hold moisture during a drought and a sponge to hold water during floods. And water held in our farm fields won’t be flooding our homes and streets.”

Until last month, more than half of America’s streams and 20 million acres of wetlands were stuck in a kind of legal limbo. This includes much of our cold water fisheries and some of the most productive waterfowl habitat in North America. These waters provide drinking water for more than 117 million Americans, support billions of dollars of economic activity, and provide vital habitat for thousands of fish and wildlife species.

And that is why I joined Collin O’Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, and Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited, in writing to The Hill in support of the clean water rule on June 5. Our community has celebrated the rulemaking process, which allowed sportsmen, farmers, businesses, and other stakeholders to provide feedback on initial drafts of the rule, and the EPA’s move to release more than half America’s streams and 20 million acres of wetlands from legal limbo. This process worked, and we’re pleased with the results—protection of the waters and wetlands that are the backbone of our sporting traditions and outdoor economy.

“Deana is a highly talented, proven executive with a strong track record of creativity and innovation–especially in the areas of brand development and licensing,” says Maureen Smith, vice president, marketing and communications, National Wildlife Federation, to whom Duffek will report. “Her expertise, design aesthetic, and passion for wildlife strengthens our team, we are looking forward to a new day for our brands.”

A recent study published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B by scientists from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom found that land near towns supported greater insect diversity than those in rural areas. Lead researcher Dr. Deepa Senapathi explains that species have been declining in both urban and agricultural areas for years, but species declined further in rural areas. This is in part due to the increases in large expanses of monoculture. And this dynamic rings true in the U.S. as well with nearly 50% of America’s land set aside as managed cropland, rangeland, pasture, or production forest land.

Dr. Deepa goes on to say, “While concreting over the countryside may appear to be bad news for nature, we’ve found that progressive urbanization may be much less damaging than intensive agriculture,” she said.

Consider some of these pollinator gardens in our nations urban areas:

Creating pollinator gardens in Baltimore. Photo by Carolyn Millard

Students collect herbs on PS 41′s greenroof in Manhattan. Photo by Megan Westervelt

Native prairie in Chesterfield Central Park, MO. Photo from City of Chesterfield

Cities and Communities Making a Difference

City governments are already stepping up to help pollinators, including the monarch butterfly. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has been a champion for the monarch butterfly and launched a successful and growing Milkweeds for Monarchs program. Austin Mayor Steve Adler and the Austin City Council recently passed a resolution to get more milkweed planted on city properties and launched a pollinator challenge. Alpharetta, GA, is joining the Million Pollinator Challenge as well, encouraging its residents to create habitat within the community.

Installing a garden in a Washington DC backyard. Photo by A. Frayer

Join the Movement

We need YOUR HELP to reverse the troubling decline of pollinators by creating pollinator habitat where you live, work, learn, play and/or worship. Please join the 150,000+ Americans who are part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife movement and access resources through Facebook, our Wildlife Promise blog and our website.

To reach the scale of habitat restoration needed to turn the tide for monarchs and other pollinator species, we will need cooperation from urban, suburban, and rural landowners and land managers. We must all do our part. Combining our work in urban and suburban areas with restoration of habitat on public lands; utility, highway and railroad right of ways; hobby farms; stream buffers; edges of crop fields; rangelands; and on the 26 million acre Conservation Reserve Program; we can provide the acres of habitat needed to help insects that pollinate our food crops and those in steep decline, such as the monarch.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/bees-find-better-habitat-in-urban-jungle-than-farm-country/feed/1Weekly News Roundup: We’re Saving Pollinators and morehttp://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/weekly-news-roundup-were-saving-pollinators-and-more/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/weekly-news-roundup-were-saving-pollinators-and-more/#commentsFri, 05 Jun 2015 17:50:51 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=107178The National Wildlife Federation is joining forces with conservation and gardening organizations as well as seed groups to form the National Pollinator Garden Network! The network will work to save our pollinators with the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge! Up for the challenge? Plant your very own pollinator garden!

The YRE-USA competition jury panel consisted of distinct professionals who possessed expertise in the fields of environmental conservation, sustainable development, journalism, photography, videography, and education. Students were judged based on structure and quality, fair, balanced and objective reporting, informative and well researched content, originality, style and independence, and dissemination.

June 3 – When the 2015 Licensing Expo kicks off in Las Vegas June 9, National Wildlife Federation® will debut a new licensing program and an all-star leadership team that includes the newly appointed head of brand licensing Deana Duffek. Duffek is a creative leader and brand developer and a 15-year veteran of the licensing business. As head of brand development and licensing for NWF, Duffek will oversee a global operation that delivers innovative and engaging products, from books, toys and apparel to digital APPS, and fine art, through its licensing, publishing, online and catalog businesses.

Collin O’Mara, president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation, was among the representatives of the Network joining First Lady Michelle Obama today at the White House garden, which includes a section dedicated to support pollinators, to formally launch the Challenge. O’Mara pledged the Federation’s support through the Garden for Wildlife program (NWF.org/Garden), which offers Americans the opportunity to make their yard, garden or community space into an NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat that supports pollinators.

NWF in the News:

The concern over emissions is compounded by what ecologists describe as a growing threat to forests and wildlife in the Southeast as demand for wood pellets grows. In North Carolina, the heaviest logging is occurring in flood plains and wetlands that are among the region’s most productive natural habits. In Georgia, where most of the trees for wood pellets are grown on pine plantations, natural forests are rapidly disappearing as landowners see new opportunities to make money, said Ben Larson, forestry and bio-energy program manager for the National Wildlife Federation.

Jan Goldman-Carter, senior manager attorney with the National Wildlife Federation’s wetlands and water resources program, disagreed. “The final rule does not resurrect the migratory bird rule criticized in SWANCC, and arguments that it does are disingenuous,” Goldman-Carter told Bloomberg BNA.

Contact with people can be stressful for wild animals, says David Mizejewski, a naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation. “Wolves, more than probably any other species on this planet, are shackled with our myths about them,” he says. “They’re seen as the big bad wolf or as spirit animals, practically angels, and both do a disservice to the living, breathing animals.”

The National Wildlife Federation and the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition sponsored a statewide poll last month that found 54 percent of Ohio voters favored the extension of Clean Water Act protections to small streams and wetlands to “protect our health and important habitats from dangerous pollution,” according to the survey.

Given the precedent-setting nature of its request, Waukesha would be expected to gather all the information necessary to justify its plan before the request is forwarded to the other Great Lakes states, said Marc Smith, senior policy manager with the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor, Mich. He is a member of the Council of Great Lakes Governors’ advisory committee for the compact.

The National Wildlife Federation’s report, “Tar Sands At Our Doorstep: The Threat to the Lake Champlain Region’s Waters, Wildlife, and Climate,” recommends a moratorium on all oil-by-rail transport, including along the Canadian Pacific Railway, until governments can enact stricter regulations.

Pollinators are in decline worldwide. You can help save them. Photo Credit: Julie Chen

Pollinators are in trouble. These important wildlife move from plant to plant while searching for protein-rich pollen or high-energy nectar to eat. As they go, they are dusted by pollen and move it to the next flower, fertilizing the plant and allowing it to reproduce and form seeds, berries, fruits and other plant foods that form the foundation of the food chain for other species—including humans.

Bees are the most important pollinators, but over 100,000 invertebrates—including butterflies, moths, wasps, flies, and beetles—and over 1,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, act as pollinators.

Save Pollinators

You can help save pollinators. Here are ten ways you can directly help pollinators and support National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to protect and restore these critically important wildlife species.

1. Become a Wildlife GardenerJoin NWF’s growing movement of Wildlife Gardeners who are have made the choice to nurture their own small piece of the Earth–their own yards and gardens–with the needs of wildlife like pollinators in mind. It’s as simple as subscribing to our free Garden for Wildlife e-newsletter. Each month, we’ll send out NWF’s expert tips and projects on how to attract birds, butterflies, pollinators and other “backyard wildlife” to guide you as you become an expert yourself.

2. Plant Natives
Native plants co-evolved with the native wildlife of your region. Native plants form the foundation of habitat for pollinators by providing them with pollen and nectar for food, cover from the elements and predators, and places where their young can grow. The best way to attract beautiful butterflies, busy bees, speedy hummingbirds and other pollinators is to fill your yard with native plants.

3. Gives Bees Nesting Places
There are 4,000 bee species native to North America (the honey bee is a European import) and most of those don’t form hives. Instead, individual female bees lay their eggs in tunnels in decaying wood or in sandy soil. You can offer such nesting spots by leaving tree snags on your property, by leaving bare batches of sandy soil, or by building or buying whimsical native bee houses.

Add bee houses like these to give native bees a place to raise their young. Photo Credit: David Mizejewski.

4. Avoid Pesticides
Bees are our most important pollinators, and they are insects. So are butterflies like the monarch. Using insecticides will kill these insects. Herbicides will kill important native plants such as milkweed that pollinators rely upon as a food source and a place to raise young. Make the commitment to avoid using chemicals and to maintain your garden in a natural, organic way.

5. Plant Milkweed
The iconic monarch butterfly has declined by over 90 percent in just twenty years. One of the main causes of this decline is a lack of milkweed, the species’ only caterpillar host plant. Without milkweed, monarchs can’t complete their lifecycle and populations plummet. By planting milkweed in your own yard, garden or neighborhood, you’ll not only attract these beautiful butterflies, you’ll be providing crucial habitat that will allow their caterpillars to survive. Find out what milkweed is native to where you live and how to get it.

6. Adopt a MonarchYou can symbolically adopt a monarch butterfly and directly support NWF’s work to save this declining pollinator. We’ll put your adoption purchase to use immediately to support our work to protect and restore monarchs and other vulnerable wildlife. We’re filling thousands of backyards with nectar plants and native milkweed—the one and only host plant for monarch caterpillars—and working alongside national partners to bring monarchs back from the brink. Adopt a monarch today.

Adopt a monarch butterfly and support pollinator conservation.

7. Protect Grasslands
America’s native grasslands are critically important for pollinators such as bees and monarch butterflies. Our grasslands are filled with native plants that offer nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and a wide variety of pollinators. They also provide milkweed, the only host plant for monarch caterpillars. Today, more than 90 percent of native grasslands have been converted to cropland and development. Grasslands are disappearing faster than any other ecosystem in North America, and that’s a big problem for pollinators. Join NWF in fighting to save grasslands for monarchs.

9. Post a Yard SignWhen you create a pollinator garden and certify it with National Wildlife Federation, you become part of the exclusive group of people who can post a Certified Wildlife Habitat sign. The sign is a wonderful way of letting your friends and neighbors know about all the hard work you’ve done to make a difference for wildlife like pollinators. Posting the sign is also a grassroots way of spreading the message that each of us can make a difference by creating a pollinator-friendly garden or landscape and inspiring others to follow your example. Certify now and get your sign, or if you’re already certified you can order a sign here.

When you certify your yard or garden you can post the exclusive Certified Wildlife Habitat sign to share your accomplishment and help spread the wildlife gardening message.

10. Spread the Word on Social Media
You can amplify National Wildlife Federation’s call to action by spreading the message about the plight of bees, monarch butterflies and other declining pollinators on social media. Take a minute to share this post on Facebook, Twitter and your other social media networks. That simple act can help take the message to millions more people than we can reach alone. Be sure to tag our Facebook and Twitter pages too!

Take the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge

The National Wildlife Federation is joining with dozens of conservation and gardening organizations as well as seed groups to form the National Pollinator Garden Network and launch a new nationwide campaign – the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.

You can participate the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge by turning your yard or garden into a Certified Wildlife Habitat via National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program. It’s as simple as providing food, water, cover and places to raise young for pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Then visit our website to certify your habitat.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/10-ways-to-save-pollinators/feed/2Take the Million Pollinator Garden Challengehttp://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/million-pollinator-garden-challenge/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/million-pollinator-garden-challenge/#commentsWed, 03 Jun 2015 18:33:38 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=106894The National Wildlife Federation is joining with dozens of conservation and gardening organizations as well as seed groups to form the National Pollinator Garden Network and launch a new nationwide campaign – the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge.

Designed to accelerate growing efforts across America, the Network is launching the Challenge in support of President Barack Obama’s call to action to reverse the alarming decline of pollinators, such as honey bees, native bees and monarch butterflies.

The National Wildlife Federation will work with the Network to rally hundreds of thousands of gardeners, horticultural professionals, schools, and volunteers to help reach a million pollinator gardens by the end of 2016.

Take the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge

You can participate the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge by turning your yard or garden into a Certified Wildlife Habitat via National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program. It’s as simple as providing food, water, cover and places to raise young for pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Then visit our website to certify your yard.

When you certify, you’ll get a personalized certificate, a special garden flag designating your yard as a Certified Wildlife Habitat, a one-year membership to National Wildlife Federation, six digital issues of National Wildlife magazine, a subscription to the monthly Garden for Wildlife e-newsletter, and a discount on wildlife gardening products from National Wildlife Catalog.

Most importantly, you’ll also start attracting beautiful pollinators and get the satisfaction of knowing that you’re making a difference. Each Certified Wildlife Habitat counts towards the ultimate goal of creating one million pollinator-friendly gardens by the end of 2016. Click here to certify now.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2015/06/million-pollinator-garden-challenge/feed/38Western Monarchs: Why 1 Percent Mattershttp://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/western-monarchs-why-one-percent-matters/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/western-monarchs-why-one-percent-matters/#commentsFri, 03 Apr 2015 17:46:00 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=105012A sunny, picture-perfect day on the California coast in late February turned even better when I arrived at a tiny sanctuary in Pacific Grove and found the air filled with butterflies—scores of bright, orange-and-black monarchs fluttering among the branches of fragrant eucalyptus and Monterey pine. The scene was spectacular, yet my companion, Ann Wasser of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, told me the butterfly gathering was a mere shadow of what it had been earlier in the season. “We estimate we have about 1,500 monarchs now,” said Wasser, education manager for the museum, which monitors the insects’ numbers. In late November, she said, the 2-acre, city-owned Monarch Grove Sanctuary had sheltered some 24,000 butterflies, the rest having recently departed for summer breeding grounds across the western United States and Canada.

Monarchs cluster in a eucalyptus grove in Pismo Beach, California, one of many sites on the coast where the butterflies seek shelter in winter. Photo donated by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Mariam Ohanjanyan.

Preparing to join their brethren fluttering east and north, the Pacific Grove monarchs were busy fueling up on nectar and mating. Jack Beigle, a retiree who has volunteered at this and other California monarch sanctuaries for more than two decades, said most of the stragglers were males. Once they’ve mated, females depart quickly to search for milkweeds. Host plants for monarchs, milkweeds are the only plants the butterflies’ caterpillars can eat.

Holding Steady—For Now

Wasser told me the Pacific Grove monarchs “had a very good year.” She and her colleagues counted 10,000 more butterflies than they did during the winter of 2013-2014. Statewide results also were encouraging: At 185 sites along the California coast—where the majority of monarchs that breed west of the Rocky Mountains spend the winter—volunteers with the 2014 Xerces Society Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count tallied 234,732 butterflies, slightly up from the previous winter.

The longer-term picture is alarming, however. Data collected during the 18-year count show a major decline in the number of overwintering monarchs (see graph, below). In 1997, the effort’s first year, volunteers recorded more than 1.2 million butterflies. According to Xerces Society Executive Director Scott Hoffman Black, California’s monarch numbers have declined by 80 percent from this high point and by 48 percent from the population’s average during the 18-year period.

Though the number of monarchs overwintering in California has held steady the past two years, the long-term trend is decidedly downward. Graph courtesy of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

East-West Divide

Researching an article, “Battle for Butterflies,” in the current issue of National Wildlife, I, like most writers covering monarchs, focused almost exclusively on butterflies that breed east of the Rockies and overwinter in Mexico—understandable given that these insects make up 99 percent of the continent’s population. According to Black, the threats facing western monarchs are similar to, but less well documented than, those confronting butterflies in the East and Midwest. Their biggest problems in recent years have been extreme weather and habitat loss, both in the insects’ breeding and wintering territories.

East of the Rockies, by far the greatest—and best documented—single threat to monarchs is massive milkweed losses across the U.S. Midwest, where the majority of North American monarchs breed and produce the next generation. In the West, “we suspect milkweed destruction also is a major factor,” says Black, “but so far we don’t have the smoking gun.” An added challenge facing western monarchs is that winter sanctuaries—strung out along more than 600 miles of coastline—are small and surrounded by development. Many trees the butterflies rely on have died or fallen down. Black says some sites are so degraded monarchs no longer can use them.

“Home-grown” Butterflies

Monarchs mate at Santa Cruz, California’s Lighthouse Field State Beach as they get ready to migrate east and north in late February. Photo by Laura Tangley.

With California’s winter monarchs making up just 1 percent of the continental population, their annual ups and downs may seem irrelevant to the species’ survival. But scientists and conservationists argue that western monarchs do matter, and their significance will increase as the butterflies continue to struggle.

“To me, it’s about genetic diversity,” Wasser says. She cites recent evidence that “the Mexico-California divide is not as absolute as scientists once thought.” That is, some monarchs coming north from Mexico may end up breeding in the West and visa versa. Having a second population that mixes with the first “helps diversify the gene pool,” she adds, “which in turn will help monarchs be better prepared for disease, climate change and other threats coming their way.”

In addition, California’s overwintering monarchs are “nearly 100 percent home grown,” Black notes. They represent the only portion of the continental population where U.S. officials, farmers, gardeners and others “can shape what happens throughout all of the butterfly’s life stages.”

How You Can Help Monarchs

As a wildlife gardener, you can help monarch butterflies right now during their spring migration and all year round. Here’s how:

Plant milkweeds native to your region.

Milkweeds are the only plants on which monarch butterflies can lay their eggs. To find out which species are native to your region or to purchase plants, check out Monarch Watch’s Milkweed Market or the Xerces Society’s Milkweed Seed Finder.

Cultivate native, nectar-producing plants.

Avoid pesticides on monarch host and nectar plants.

In particular, steer clear of systemic insecticides such as neonicotinoids, which are taken up by the vascular systems of plants. This means butterflies and other pollinators can be exposed to poison long after a product has been applied by feeding on leaves, nectar and pollen. A new study provides evidence that milkweed leaves treated with one neonicotinoid, Imidacloprid, will kill monarch caterpillars that eat them.

Park Ranger Michelle Luebke showing the class a tray of primrose seedlings. Photo by Jason Wickersty, National Park Service

One morning in early March, Park Ranger Michelle Luebke from Gateway National Recreation Area and Michael Butts from the Greenbelt Native Plant Center in Staten Island visited our kindergarten class at P.S. 197 in Brooklyn to help us start growing some plant seeds.

But it’s not just the pollinators who are benefiting. My 19 kindergarteners, with their boundless energy, enthusiasm and curiosity, are too. Our project has brought them out into the fresh air to a natural parkland with views of New York City among its bat houses and osprey nests. It has allowed them to get their hands dirty and think about how they can help nature. And, it has given me countless of extension ideas. We have traced monarch butterflies’ migratory paths from the Northeast to the fir tree forests in Mexico on Google Earth and we have created faux stain glass butterflies for our classroom windows. Of course, we have read lots of books. When it came time for them to write their own non-fiction books, many of my students turned to a topic they knew a lot about — butterflies.

Mina helping her students get their hands dirty. Photo by Jason Wickersty, National Park Service

My kindergarteners have had the opportunity to do a lot of science. When Michelle and Michael visited us in March, they had the children examine different types of seeds. Then they taught them how to scarify the seeds, which is to rub the seeds with sandpaper in order to make germination easier. We watched as Michael scattered them into a tray to plant them. Over the weeks, we have cared for them and watched them sprout.

Michelle and Michael also brought us a tray of primrose seedlings. We had picked primrose seeds when we visited Jamaica Bay in October, so, it was very exciting for the class to see the little plants shooting up. The primrose and the milkweed were set under grow lights, which were given to us as part of the “Wild” program.

Another little gardener. Photo by Jason Wickersty, National Park Service

One of Mina’s little gardeners. Photo by Jason Wickersty, National Park Service

Our grow lights have a prominent location in our room – in the back right next to the children’s closet. The children check on the plants as soon as they enter the room in the morning, and of course, throughout the day. They notice and report every change — when the plants have seemingly shot up overnight or whether a plant’s yellowed leaves is an ominous sign.

“We are little gardeners, right, Mrs. Campanie?” one of my students has said to me a couple of times. “Yes,” I tell her, and she smiles broadly. Her queries showed me that in addition to the environmental and educational benefits, our pollinator project is bringing happiness to the little gardeners in the room.

You, too, can create your own pollinator project by planting native species in your gardens, schools, and community spaces. Learn how to garden for wildlife to help reestablish pollinator populations such as the monarch butterflies.

Join NWF in becoming a Butterfly Hero today and NWF will send you a free native milkweed kit to help you get your wildlife garden started!

The Growing a Wild Brooklyn and Queens program is a partnership between the National Park Service/Gateway National Recreation Area, National Wildlife Federation NYC Eco-Schools, Greenbelt Native Plant Center, the NYC Department of Education, the Student Conservation Association, the Community Greenways Collaborative, Brooklyn College and local seniors.

About the Author: Mina Campanie is a kindergarten teacher at P.S. 197, The Kings Highway Academy in Brooklyn, NY. She sees many similarities between caring for her seedlings at home and nurturing the kindergarteners at school. This is her fourth year of teaching.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/kindergarteners-help-grow-a-wild-brooklyn/feed/0Quiz: Will These Monarch Look-Alikes Fool You?http://blog.nwf.org/2015/03/quiz-will-these-monarch-look-alikes-fool-you/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/03/quiz-will-these-monarch-look-alikes-fool-you/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 18:42:47 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=105145Each spring I search desperately in butterfly gardens, hoping to catch a glimpse of a monarch butterfly. I’ll admit, there are a few butterfly species that trick me. The viceroy and queen butterflies are easy to confuse with monarchs. This guide and quiz will hopefully help you (and me) improve identification skills so that these look-alikes don’t fool us anymore. First, learn how to distinguish monarchs from their look-alikes, then put your skills to the test!

Viceroy vs Monarch

The viceroy has good reason for mimicking monarchs, their survival depends upon confusing predators. That makes it extra tricky for us. The viceroy can be identified by the black line across its hindwings, which monarch butterflies do not have. The viceroy is also a bit smaller than the monarch. As you’ll see in the quiz, the caterpillars of monarchs and viceroys are significantly different in appearance.

Queen vs Monarch

The queen butterfly has white spots on its hindwings, distinguishing it from the monarch. It is also a darker color orange than monarchs. When the wings of a queen butterfly are open, it’s a bit easier to tell the two species apart. During the caterpillar phase, however, the monarch and queen are very similar. The queen caterpillar has three sets of protuberances, while the monarch caterpillar has only two sets.